Sharing Is Caring

SHARING IS CARING

The following are some humorous entries that have been found on hospital charts. The patient refused autopsy. The patient is recovering from a forehead cut and became very angry when given an enema by mistake. The patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year. On the second day, the patient’s knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993. The patient is numb from her toes down. The patient was alert and unresponsive. I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy. The patient’s lab test indicated abnormal lover function. The patient’s skin is somewhat pale but present. The patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities. No doubt, these were probably written by some sleepy intern or frazzled nurse. But that describes most people in our society today – they are overworked and weary. Perhaps, it even describes you these days. It certainly described Moses in the days after God used him to free the Israelites from Egypt.

This morning as we study Exodus 18:13-27, we get an inside look at Moses’ daily routine. When Moses is not traveling with the Israelites through the wilderness, fighting the Amalekites or dealing with the people’s grumbling, complaining and quarreling, it seems he is judging and hearing disputes, seeking God’s will for the people and teaching them God’s decrees and instructions, all from morning until evening. This seems to be happening every day after day and he is overworked and weary, trying to do the work of ministry by himself. His father-in-law, Jethro, who was visiting the camp, notices this is wrong and not good for the welfare of Moses and the Israelite people. With his newly confessed faith in Yahweh, Jethro was specially positioned by the Lord to give advice to Moses that he would desperately need as the law was soon to be given at Mt. Sinai. The advice was really simple: “You need help.” Jethro was saying that Moses needed to share the work of the​​ ministry with others so he would not get burnt out or worse. This morning, we will study the weight of Moses’ leadership, Jethro’s godly wisdom to Moses and how more effective Moses can be in the work of the ministry that God had uniquely called him to do. That brings us to the big idea that God wants us to understand this morning that​​ God is pleased when His people share the work of the ministry.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we pause and thank you for another opportunity to be in your house to worship and praise you for who you are and what you have done for your people. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us as we hear your word. Open our hearts and minds to what you are saying to us. Let us take it deep into our hearts and souls and allow it to transform us. And then help us to pass it onto others that need to know about you this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point this morning is Weight found in Exodus 18:13-18. This is what God’s Word says, “The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”

Exodus chapter 18 is a transitional chapter. Most scholars believe this chapter is out of place in the chronology of the book and is placed here thematically based on what came before and what will follow. Last week I mentioned that the account of Jethro making his confession of faith in Yahweh was an epilogue to the first twelve chapters of Exodus. God was fulfilling his promise to Abraham that his descendants would be blessed​​ by God in order to be a blessing to the world. And we saw that last week. Moses gave his testimony to Jethro about the salvation that the Lord had brought to him and his chosen people, and Jethro heard it and made a confession of faith.

Now the second half of chapter 18 is a prologue to the rest of the book. This account of Jethro giving advice to Moses about how to better handle his ministry to the people will prove invaluable especially after the Lord gives the Law in the next couple of chapters. At this point, God has not formally given the Law to His people, but they have a knowledge of right and wrong and how they were supposed to live. Genesis 26:5 says that God made the covenant with Abraham because “Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” God has inherently been handing down informal laws and statutes since the beginning of time. That was fine before but now that the Israelites are becoming a growing nation, and a formal giving of the Law was appropriate. And once God formally makes his law known to the people, it would exponentially create more work for Moses. So, God especially positions Jethro to notice the weight of Moses’ leadership, in order to put an organizational structure together, to assist him in doing the work of the ministry to the Israelites.

We notice that it’s the very next day after the events we studied last week. Jethro makes his confession of faith, brings a burnt offering and other offerings to God and breaks bread with Moses, Aaron and the elders. The very next day, Moses goes about his daily work. Even the presence of his father-in-law in the camp couldn’t keep him from doing the work of the ministry. He takes his seat to serve as judge and the people stand around him which would have been normal in that day. We also noticed that this went on from morning till evening. This would have been the daily scene as the Israelites camped in the wilderness. We see Jethro’s reaction to this scene. Probably after observing what is​​ happening that first day, he goes to Moses and inquires about what is going on. It seems in Midian that was not the way things were done. But interestingly, this was the way that Pharaoh did things in Egypt. As we studied the plagues, you may have noticed that Moses and Aaron seem to have no problem getting an audience with Pharaoh. This was because Pharaoh was readily available to meet with those who wanted an audience with him. And Moses would have been intimately aware of how this procedure worked living in the palace as a young man.

Jethro inquires why Moses is the only one doing the judging while everyone else just stands around. Moses says it was because they were waiting for him to impart God’s will to them, to decide disputes between parties and to inform them of God’s decrees and laws. The Lord had chosen Moses as His prophet to the people of Israel and as he was intimately connected to Yahweh, the people accepted him as the one to intercede for them, try the cases brought before him and make rulings based on God’s decrees and instructions. Moses had seemingly taken on doing this work of ministry all by himself. God has been silent on whether that has been a good thing or not, but because Moses has recorded Jethro pointing out the dangers and Moses’ blind spots in doing ministry, we can believe that the Lord is orchestrating these events. ​​ 

Jethro points out a number of blind spots that Moses has as he is doing the work of ministry. First, Moses, even though he was doing good work for the Lord, can’t see that the way he was conducting ministry was not good. As God’s prophet, he may have thought he was the only one able to give answers to the people as they sought God’s will and the only one who could decide the disputes brought before him. He may have thought he was the only one who knew God’s decrees and instructions well enough to be able to correctly inform the people. Second, this is what God called him to do, but he couldn’t see that the work was too heavy for one person. Moses couldn’t see that he was wearing himself out, wearing out the people, as well as trying their patience. Scholars believe​​ there were something like 600,000 men not counting women and children in the Israelite camp and there could have been up to two million people total. The workload would have been enormous. Think about this: one half of one percent of the men is three thousand people. How long would it take to adjudicate, intercede for and impart God’s decrees and instructions to three thousand people. Moses is not getting through every single case every day which means they are having to come back the next day. And by the time he gets through the first three thousand another three thousand have taken their place. We know that the Israelites have grumbled, complained and quarreled with Moses and the Lord. Imagine the quarreling they are doing with each other in a group of people that size. Third, Moses can’t see that he needed to delegate some of the lesser responsibilities to others. God may have been calling others waiting for Moses to equip and use them in ministering to the people but he hasn’t done that yet.​​ God is pleased when His people share the work of the ministry​​ (Big Idea).

We all have blind spots. We have them at home with our family, we have them at work with our co-workers, we have them with our friends, and we even have them here with our church family. It was important that Moses had a trusted and godly person who could bring the blind spots in his life into the light. By allowing Jethro to point out his blind spots, Moses’ ministry could flourish and be all that it could be. And it is important that we also have those trusted and godly people in our lives who can lovingly point out our blind spots. In the context of the church, if we surround ourselves with at least one trusted and godly person whom we allow to point out our blind spots, then our ministry can flourish and be all that it can be. That brings us to our first next step on the back of your communication card this morning which is to​​ Allow​​ at least one trusted and​​ godly​​ person to​​ point​​ out my blind spots.

Jethro has seen the weight of Moses' leadership and ministry to the Israelites, now we’ll see the wisdom of Jethro as he gives godly advice​​ to Moses, which brings us to our second point,​​ Wisdom, found in Exodus 18:19-23. This is what God’s Word says, “Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

We see Jethro’s wisdom as he gives Moses advice. “And may God be with you” means that Moses should first discern from God if Jethro’s advice is in accordance with God’s will. There are three areas that Jethro points out to Moses that he should concentrate on. First, he was to continue to be the shepherd of God’s people. As part of that shepherding, he was to intercede between God and the people. This was the most important ministry that Moses had as God’s prophet. It is important to note that Jethro wasn’t trying to usurp Moses' role given to him by God, instead he wanted to help Moses be more productive in that role. Second, Moses would also shepherd the people by instructing and teaching them God’s decrees and instructions. It seems that Moses was the only one who had a firm grasp on that and so was the only one able to impart God’s teaching to the people. But it was more than just teaching, Moses was to help the people apply the truth of God’s Word to their everyday lives, showing them how to live and behave. Once they knew God’s teaching for themselves and were living it out, they could settle some lesser disputes on their own. The petty complaints would grind to a halt because everyone would know and understand God’s teaching and could police themselves in the minor matters.

Third, Moses was to shepherd the people by involving others in the work of the ministry. Jethro advised him to appoint other officials or judges who would oversee a certain number of people. Some would be appointed over thousands, some hundreds, some fifties and some tens. This would create a hierarchical organization that would help Moses to better minister to the people. Jethro even gave Moses advice on the qualifications for these men. First, they were to be capable men from all the people. This meant he was to select or discern men who could also be discerning of the truth. These men could not be limited to family or friends but must come from a cross-section of the entire nation so there would be no suspicion of favoritism. Second, they were to be men who feared God. This meant they reverenced God and rejected evil. Psalms 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.” It was important that these men ``feared the Lord” and were wise and had good understanding. Third, they were to be trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain. This meant they had to be men who first knew the truth and would be reliable and consistent in making judgements. They also had to hate dishonest gain. Psalms 119:36 says, “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.” It was important that the hearts of these men were led by the standards of God’s law so that they wouldn’t fall prey to taking bribes to persuade their rulings. They were to be fair, just, absolutely reliable knowing that God would hold them accountable for their behavior as judges. We see these same type of qualities in 1 Timothy 3:1-3 that Sue read earlier. “Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”

These men would serve as judges, set up kind of like our court system today. We have family courts, city courts, county courts, state courts, federal courts, and the Supreme Court. It would start in the family units of ten where lower-level judges would decide the simple cases and if a case was too difficult it could go to the next level’s judge and so on until it ended up in Moses’ lap, who was effectively the Supreme Court of the land. This would also be an effective way to pass down God’s words to the people starting with the smallest group of ten people. This passage is paralleled in Deuteronomy chapter 1 where we learn that Moses asks the people to choose these men and then he appointed them having veto power over any he thought inappropriate. This advice would lighten Moses’ load significantly, giving him more time to do the ministry of being a prophet, interceding before God and the people, and teaching and instructing the people on God’s decrees, which would show them how God wanted them to live and behave not only with him but with each other.

The load would be lighter because he would be sharing the ministry with other capable and godly men (Big Idea). By implementing Jethro’s advice, Houtman says, Moses would be “able to focus on the main thing, communicating the covenant to the people. He would also be able to stand the strain and the people would go home satisfied. Isn’t that what we want either as leaders or in the leadership where we work and go to church? Those in leadership positions want to be able to stand the strain at work or in ministry and those who are under leadership at work or church want to be confident in their leaders and go home satisfied that their leaders have their best interest at heart. Notice again that Jethro qualifies his advice, “If God so commands.” Jethro didn’t want Moses to take his word for all of this and just do it. He wanted Moses to take his advice before God himself to know what his will was in these matters.

Jethro has given his godly wisdom to Moses, now we will see the new work of Moses as he implements his advice, which brings us to our third point,​​ Work, found in Exodus 18:24-27. This is what God’s Word says, “Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.”

We see Moses reacting three ways in this passage which shows us the type of leader he is. One, he listened. He listened to Jethro and did everything he said. He followed his father-in-law’s advice to the letter. Two, Moses was teachable. He realized he didn’t know how to organize a massive people such as the nation of Israel had become. Third, he was humble as we have seen before. It takes great humility to be shown your blind spots and to respond by listening and being teachable instead of getting upset and lashing out. I don’t know about you, but I want to have that same humility and teachable spirit. Now, one thing we may notice is that God never speaks, so how do we know that Moses was doing God’s will? Every commentator says that the fact that Moses implemented Jethro’s advice proves that at some point God had given his unrecorded ok. If Moses was not to have followed Jethro’s advice, then it would not have happened. Another proof we can see is that in the narrative, Jethro wanted Moses to seek God in the matter. This should be a lesson to us as well when taking advice from others. First, seek God’s will.

He chose capable men who had the qualifications Jethro put forth and made them leaders and judges over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. We are told that Moses implemented the plan just as Jethro gave it to him. Moses would handle the difficult cases and the under judges would decide the simpler ones themselves. It seems like Moses and the underjudges served well together so Moses probably wasn’t a control freak and allowed them to truly share in the work of the ministry (Big Idea). Then we are given a short and abrupt note that Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and he returned to his own country. “Sent” is the same neutral word used in 18:2 speaking of Moses sending his wife back to her father in Midian. It suggests a warm, happy, congenial parting not Moses trying to “get rid of Jethro.”

Here at Idaville Church we have an organizational structure as well. Our highest governing body is the board but they also play an important role in sharing the load of ministry within the church. I am going to have them stand up as I mention their name. Linda Asper is in charge of the Christian Education Commission. If you are part of her commission or are a teacher, please stand. Bev Fleming is in charge of the Finance Commission. If you are part of her commission, please stand. Laurin Fleming is the Board Chairperson and in charge of the Outreach Commission. If you are part of his commission, please stand. Sherl Shaffer is in charge of the Property Commission. If you are part of his commission, please stand. Doug Asper is in charge of the Worship Commission. If you are part of his commission, please stand. If you are part of the Spiritual Care Commission, please stand. At the moment, we do not have a chairperson for the Spiritual Care Commission. We also have three members-at-large voted on by the membership. They are Becca Asper, Sue Thompson and Carole Zeaser. You can stand as well. I am also on the board as the Assistant Pastor, overseeing the Youth Ministry and preaching and teaching in various capacities. I want to let you know that since the Pandemic, we have split up the congregation between the nine board members and we regularly pray for each one of you, for the church and for our ministries of the church.

There are also a lot of you in the congregation that take on leadership roles in certain areas at certain times. This church always rallies together to do the work of ministry here at Idaville Church. You will see that this week at VBS. I want the board to know and everyone here to know that the ministry of Idaville Church doesn’t get done without you. Ministry can’t be done by one or two people. It takes us all to do ministry correctly and to do it in a way that is honoring and glorifying to God. So, I thank you and the board and the board thanks the congregation,as well. Sharing the work of the ministry shows how much we care for each other. Sharing is Caring especially when it comes to sharing the ministry.

In the next month or so, each of our chairpersons are going to take a few minutes on a Sunday morning to share what their commission does and to ask you to consider joining a commission. Our goal is to match people’s gifts, skills and abilities with each specific commission. You can go to our 2024 Yearbook (with the yellow cover) and look at pages 7-8 to get an idea of what each commission is responsible for. I encourage each of you to be praying about where God is leading you to serve here at Idaville Church. That brings us to our second next step this morning which is to​​ Prayerfully​​ consider joining a commission and​​ share​​ in the work of the​​ ministry​​ at Idaville Church.

Now maybe God has already been working in your heart and mind to serve in some capacity at Idaville, if that’s the case, this last next step may be for you,​​ Join​​ the​​ commission where I can best use my​​ gifts​​ and​​ abilities.​​ It takes all of us to the work of the ministry.

As the ushers come to collect the tithes and offerings and Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn, let’s pray, God, as we leave your house, let us be aware of what you have been saying to us this morning. May we pay attention to your Holy Spirit as it guides us, teaches us, rebukes us and corrects us this week. Help us to find one trusted and godly person who we will allow to point out our blind spots. Let us prayerfully consider joining a commission or to join a commission where we can best use our gifts and abilities so we can all share in the work of the ministry at Idaville Church. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

OPENING:

HUMOROUS HOSPITAL CHARTS​​ (Marshall Shelley, www.PreachingToday.com) (From a sermon by C. Philip Green, Cure for Weariness, 8/17/2012)